Editorial: Court sets right course on net neutrality

As the dust settles from a federal court decision last week cutting the legs out from under the Federal Communications Commission’s attempt to regulate Internet providers, one thing is certain: This fight is far from over.
Those who want to impose the nebulous concept of “net neutrality” on one of the great technological success stories of our time ignore two realities about the Internet.
Access is neither free nor unlimited.
Those who would force broadband service providers to provide equal access, regardless of how much bandwidth a user absorbs, ignore the potential to undermine this platform for business and communication.
A federal appeals court on Tuesday said the FCC overstepped its authority in its efforts to regulate those companies that provide the “pipes” for Internet content.
The simple answer to this problem, the court said, would be to reclassify broadband service providers to make them Title II carriers.
And clearly, the FCC is thinking about going this route.
Not only could this subject broadband providers to a stultifying level of regulation, it would impose on the industry an outdated regulatory structure devised with monopoly phone companies in mind.
To be sure, we are not brushing aside the concerns voiced by free-market critics about the potential for broadband companies to behave badly.
They could block access to competitors. They could squelch voices they don’t want heard. They could make access speeds so slow for the cheap seats on the Internet train that emerging businesses are seriously hampered.
But unless and until this happens — and not just a couple of isolated incidents — we don’t think the FCC should go the heavy regulation route.
In one of the less publicized elements of the decision by the D.C. Court of Appeals, the court said the FCC has the power to order transparency.
The commission can require broadband companies to disclose information on network management practices and performance.
With this information, the public, regulators and elected officials can keep an eye on broadband providers.
If they stoop to unacceptable or anti-competitive behavior, additional regulations can be imposed.
But at this point, the greater danger is in smothering this engine for innovation with strict regulations devised to protect against problems that have yet to develop.
— The Denver Post
Online: DenverPost.com